Sekou Nrumah must have lost it. His dad must be looking down from heaven – or wherever he might be – very disappointed. He does not seem to know the game called politics which his dad was a maestro. First he leaves the party which he was born into; a party that his dad founded. That is a betrayal to the highest degree, not only to his dad but to his family. In Ghana most people who are born Christian/Muslims die as such; and political party affiliation is practiced religiously in this country. People are expected to carry on tradition no matter what. Yet, not only is the CPP a party into which Sekou was born; it is a party which was established on the ideas and principles of his father. And what is more, he joined the very party which helped to disintegrate the CPP by taking its members – the NDC. A year or so after joining the party he makes a politically incorrect pronouncement, which sees his losing his position. He does not even sound apologetic but goes on to add more salt to injury with subsequent pronouncements. Months later he resigns from the NDC though he does not tell where he is heading, only to say that his exit from the party is to prevent a seeming clash between family members. I was watching TV Africa’s Obaa Mbo talk show with my brother. Samia Nkrumah was the Guest of the show. “As for his brother he is simply insane,” my brother remarked. “What makes him insane?”, I inquired. “Oh, you’ve not been following him, I think he has lost credibility in the political arena. He even said he does not think his sister can do much for the CPP”. A lot has been said about Sekou; his actions, pronouncements and demeanor, to the effect that he is simply incorrigible. But I still don’t see what is wrong with his actions and, maybe, inactions; so I ask, what has Sekou done wrong? For those who think there is something wrong with Sekou you may be right in your own frame of thinking. Being born and raised in this country, I should understand your point of view. The political environment in which we find ourselves does not allow independent thinking. It is a system where parliamentarians in the majority think the same way and those in the minority do likewise, many a time opposed to the majority. It is a system where the job of the minority in parliament is to oppose, hence their name “the opposition”. It is a system in which it is seen to be unwise, maybe catastrophic, to go against the majority or the powers that be. And woe betides anybody who chooses to go against this unwritten rule; he will be thrown into the valley of political bankruptcy and inactivity forever. Unfortunately for him, Sekou was brought up to have an independent mind. Not to succumb to undue pressure from above, beside or below. And this is also exhibited by his sister. Samia is the only MP has expressed her opposition to the labeling of MP’s as majority, minority or opposition. To her, an MP is simply an MP for the people. I also understand why many Ghanaians find Sekou an unusual character. There seem to be a culture in Ghana, in which it is a taboo to “harm” those closer to us. Even if they were wrong, you just have to say it was not that bad. If they are wearing a black shirt, you tell them, “that’s a nice white shirt you’ve got. If they buy you a sheep, you tell them, “Thanks for the fat cow you gave me the other day”. If it happens that this person who is closer to us happens to be older or has more power and influence than we do then this adornment and embellishment gets to its peak. This is typified in the Akan proverb “Se opanin ta wo badwa mu a ye de hye akwadaa”, meaning, if the elderly lets off bad air in public a child is made to claim responsibility. And woe betides any child who refuses to claim responsibility, let alone expose the culprit of the act. I am sure when Sekou said that the president’s leadership style is not the best and that he lacks charisma and energy, he thought he was calling a spade a spade. Little did he know that he had violated this proverb. Dr Arthur Kennedy’s decision to write a book on the events that led to the 2008 elections was met with severe criticism from his party (The NPP). It was as if they were touting that too many adults have let off bad air. If you are not ready to claim responsibility, the least you could do was to blow their cover. Chasing the Elephant into the Bush, to me, was a great book which will serve as a guide not only to the future generation of NPP politicians but to Ghanaian politicians in general. Yet Dr. Kennedy had to face the wrath of some very prominent people in his party. I don’t know if the publication of that book has anything to do with his non-inclusion in Nana’s 2012 campaign team. And if has, I would not be surprised. Though it claims to have in its fold the most learned, the elite and the most educated, the NPP could not get a single independent – minded person to tell the party that 17 candidates for a presidential primary was simply not a good message to the people out there. I mean, what was the NPP telling the people out there? That there was something really juicy up there that they all needed to scramble for? In the end the media did not only report on the main event but also reported on the opulence and the show of power among people who are of the same fold. The Party has learnt its lessons though, with a seal on the number of presidential aspirants, but if the party promoted independent thinking I am sure there were people within the party who would have opposed this move before it gained root. In 2004, the University of Ghana was hit by the biggest examination scandal in its history. In the end the head of the academic affairs directorate was transferred to the School of Administration. That was his sanction for the role he played in the said canker. The thinking behind this transfer could simply be “well, really know you have messed up but because you are one of us we can’t really do much. But if we leave you here there would be murmuring. So please move to this place and let’s hope you will not repeat your action”. I am asking myself; if he was not fit for the academic affairs, how on earth could he have been fit for the School of Administration? Then I remembered, maybe – the “we do not ‘hurt’ those closer to us” rule was at work. I am sure if any independent minded person had insisted that the man be given the boot, he (this independent minded person) would have rather been booted out. So its simple. You cannot make it in the politico-social arena of this country if you decide to call a spade a spade or maintain an independent mind. You would be branded insane, unfit, a deviant, unrefined et ce tera. My brother, who holds the view that Sekou must be crazy for criticizing all manner of people including his own sister, is a graduate from the University of Ghana. Sadly, he is not the only graduate from our tertiary institutions who thinks in a similar manner. Some of those who criticized Sekou for daring to criticize the president are holders of Masters and degrees. This country must promote intellectualism, independent mindedness and eschew any blanket succumbing to authority. It must encourage an environment where criticism is constructive without regard to any affiliation or relation. Kwaku Botwe kwakubotwe@execs.com